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HER:  Cornwall and Scilly MCO31 (10375)
NMR:  SX 26 SE 10 (435076)
SM:  1007296
NGR:  SX 2934 6016
X:  229346  Y:  60163  (OSGB36)
Small, slight, but commanding, univallate hillfort with outworks, located on summit of prominent hill, forming watershed between two tributaries of River Seaton. Surrounding slopes steep, then very steep to wooded stream valleys on E, W and S, less so on N. Oval site enclosing 0.8ha defined by rampart, to the E to 1.2m high incorporated into hedge bank, to W scarp to 8m wide with faint traces of a bank. Ditch survives as buried feature, only visible for short length on N side. An outwork survives to W, but only as field boundary bank and buried outer ditch. To NE and E rampart and ditch cut into by farm buildings. Outworks not concentric with line of inner rampart. A 30m gap to S probably an entrance. Site much damaged by farm and plough. On 1st Ed. OS map (1882).
Citizen Science:  ✗
Reliability of Data:  Confirmed
Reliability of Interpretation:  Confirmed
X:  -490196  Y:  6518706  (EPSG: 3857)
Longitude:  -4.403503941733989  Latitude:  50.41641216994788  (EPSG:4326)
Country:  England
Current County or Unitary Authority:  Cornwall
Historic County:  Cornwall
Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Menheniot
Much damaged site, with farm in NE quadrant. On Heritage at Risk Register (2015).
Extant   | ✓ |
Cropmark   | ✗ |
Likely Destroyed   | ✓ |
Farmed.
Woodland   | ✗ |
Commercial Forestry Plantation   | ✗ |
Parkland   | ✗ |
Pasture (Grazing)   | ✓ |
Arable   | ✗ |
Scrub/Bracken   | ✗ |
Bare Outcrop   | ✗ |
Heather/Moorland   | ✗ |
Heath   | ✗ |
Built-up   | ✓ |
Coastal Grassland   | ✗ |
Other   | ✗ |
Small, slight, but commanding, univallate hillfort with outworks, located on summit of prominent hill, forming watershed between two tributaries of River Seaton. Surrounding slopes steep, then very steep to wooded stream valleys on E, W and S, less so on N.
Contour Fort   | ✓ |
Partial Contour Fort   | ✗ |
Promontory Fort   | ✗ |
Hillslope Fort   | ✗ |
Level Terrain Fort   | ✗ |
Marsh Fort   | ✗ |
Multiple Enclosure Fort   | ✗ |
Hilltop   | ✓ |
Coastal Promontory   | ✗ |
Inland Promontory   | ✗ |
Valley Bottom   | ✗ |
Knoll/Hillock/Outcrop   | ✗ |
Ridge   | ✗ |
Cliff/Plateau-edge/Scarp   | ✗ |
Hillslope   | ✗ |
Lowland   | ✗ |
Spur   | ✗ |
Dominant Topographic Feature:  Hill top
North   | ✗ |
Northeast   | ✗ |
East   | ✗ |
Southeast   | ✗ |
South   | ✗ |
Southwest   | ✗ |
West   | ✗ |
Northwest   | ✗ |
Level   | ✓ |
Altitude:  100.0m
N/A
None
Reliability:  D - None
Pre 1200BC   | ✗ |
1200BC - 800BC   | ✗ |
800BC - 400BC   | ✗ |
400BC - AD50   | ✗ |
AD50 - AD400   | ✗ |
AD400 - AD 800   | ✗ |
Post AD800   | ✗ |
Unknown   | ✓ |
Pre Hillfort:   | None |
Post Hillfort:   | None |
On 1st Ed. OS map (1882). Site investigation Ordnance Survey 1970. Watching Brief - Cornwall County Council 1997.
1st Identified Map Depiction (1882):   | OS map |
Other (1970):   | Site investigation OS. |
Other (1997):   | Watching Brief - Cornwall County Council. |
None
None
None   | ✓ |
Spring   | ✗ |
Stream   | ✗ |
Pool   | ✗ |
Flush   | ✗ |
Well   | ✗ |
Other   | ✗ |
None
No Known Features   | ✓ |
Round Stone Structures   | ✗ |
Rectangular Stone Structures   | ✗ |
Curvilinear Platforms   | ✗ |
Other Roundhouse Evidence   | ✗ |
Pits   | ✗ |
Quarry Hollows   | ✗ |
Other   | ✗ |
None
No Known Excavation   | ✓ |
Pits   | ✗ |
Postholes   | ✗ |
Roundhouses   | ✗ |
Rectangular Structures   | ✗ |
Roads/Tracks   | ✗ |
Quarry Hollows   | ✗ |
Other   | ✗ |
Nothing Found   | ✗ |
None
No Known Geophysics   | ✓ |
Pits   | ✗ |
Roundhouses   | ✗ |
Rectangular Structures   | ✗ |
Roads/Tracks   | ✗ |
Quarry Hollows   | ✗ |
Other   | ✗ |
Nothing Found   | ✗ |
None
No Known Finds   | ✓ |
Pottery   | ✗ |
Metal   | ✗ |
Metalworking   | ✗ |
Human Bones   | ✗ |
Animal Bones   | ✗ |
Lithics   | ✗ |
Environmental   | ✗ |
Other   | ✗ |
None
APs Not Checked   | ✓ |
None   | ✗ |
Roundhouses   | ✗ |
Rectangular Structures   | ✗ |
Pits   | ✗ |
Postholes   | ✗ |
Roads/Tracks   | ✗ |
Other   | ✗ |
A 30m gap to S probably an entrance.
1:   | None |
2:   | None |
Guard Chambers:  ✗
Chevaux de Frise:  ✗
1. Simple Gap (South):   | None |
Oval site defined by rampart, to the E to 1.2m high incorporated into hedge bank, to W scarp to 8m wide with faint traces of a bank. Ditch survives as buried feature, only visible for short length on N side. An outwork survives to W, but only as field boundary bank and buried outer ditch. To NE and E rampart and ditch cut into by farm buildings. Outworks not concentric with line of inner rampart.
Area 1:   | 0.8ha. |
Total:   | 0.8ha. |
Total Footprint Area:  Noneha.
None
✗   | None |
✗   | None |
NE Quadrant:   | 0 |
SE Quadrant:   | 0 |
SW Quadrant:   | 1 |
NW Quadrant:   | 1 |
Total:   | 1 |
Partial Univallate   | ✓ |
Univallate   | ✗ |
Partial Bivallate   | ✗ |
Bivallate   | ✗ |
Partial Multivallate   | ✗ |
Multivallate   | ✗ |
Unknown   | ✗ |
Partial Univallate   | ✗ |
Univallate   | ✗ |
Partial Bivallate   | ✗ |
Bivallate   | ✗ |
Partial Multivallate   | ✗ |
Multivallate   | ✗ |
None
None   | ✗ |
Earthen Bank   | ✓ |
Stone Wall   | ✗ |
Rubble   | ✗ |
Wall-walk   | ✗ |
Evidence of Timber   | ✗ |
Vitrification   | ✗ |
Other Burning   | ✗ |
Palisade   | ✗ |
Counter Scarp Bank   | ✗ |
Berm   | ✗ |
Unfinished   | ✗ |
Other   | ✗ |
None
None   | ✗ |
Earthen Bank   | ✗ |
Stone Wall   | ✗ |
Murus Duplex   | ✗ |
Timber-framed   | ✗ |
Timber-laced   | ✗ |
Vitrification   | ✗ |
Other Burning   | ✗ |
Palisade   | ✗ |
Counter Scarp Bank   | ✗ |
Berm   | ✗ |
Unfinished   | ✗ |
No Known Excavation   | ✓ |
Other   | ✗ |
✗   | None |
✓   | Ditch survives as buried feature, only visible for short length on N side. |
Number of Ditches:  1
✗   | None |
Thomas, N. 1998. Blacketon Rings, Menheniot, Cornwall: an archaeological investigation, Unpublished assessment and evaluation report, Cornwall Archaeological Unit, Cornwall County Council.
Atlas of Hillforts:
Wikidata:
This work is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 and should be cited as:
Lock, Gary and Ralston, Ian. 2024. Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland. Available at: https://hillforts.arch.ox.ac.uk
Document Version 1.1